Inspired by David Whyte’s documentary film No Greater Love
about the Discalced Carmelite Nuns in Notting Hill, London

These daughters of Carmel wear spiritual clothes,
keeping their vows to be Christ’s brides.
A wedding band, a scapula spun across

the shoulders of their black habits, inside
a pocket with a cross next to their hearts,
beating like bells at the Consecration.

A pocket too to hold spectacles
helping them read in the dark night.
Hooks at the front and back to tie up

their habit, guarding them from the world’s
soil when they nurture altar roses, or scrub
chapel windows for light-christened prayers.

And their white mantles, bridal gowns
as if sewn by Seraphim, their faces
aglow now, all bright as the sun.